1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to agricultural rakes such as carted or folded hay rakes used to form windrows from cut crops. For example, the rakes may be used to form windrows from cut hay, straw, and/or grasses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Folding hay rakes have been used to form windrows from cut crops for many years. One example of a folding hay rake is a “V” rake that generally has a wide opening at the top of the V and includes multiple rake wheels along the arms of the V that form a windrow at the narrow part of the V, which is typically downstream (to the rear) with respect to the direction of travel of the hay rake.
In order to transport V-shaped rakes such as the one noted above, the rakes typically fold into a transport position that is narrower than the work position (raking position) by either folding vertically and/or folding about a vertical axis, which makes the V narrower or sharper as viewed from above. The transport position is typically sufficiently narrow to fit on a roadway, and preferably, substantially within a single lane of a roadway.
It is beneficial to be able to adjust the width of the wide part of the V (top of the V) as well as to be able to adjust the width of the narrow part of the V (bottom of the V).
Additionally, it is beneficial to be able to rake the interior portion of the V, i.e. the part where the final windrow is deposited. One benefit of raking the interior of the V is that material in this area is overturned for drying, even though the material may end up roughly in the same place it was before being raked. When raking mechanisms for raking the interior of the V are included with an adjustable hay rake, it is often beneficial to configure these interior rake wheels or “splitter” wheels to move inward and outward relative to a central, longitudinal axis of the rake in order to accommodate other adjustments in the rake or to alter the area raked by these interior rakes.